... as soon as Michael asks him where his brother is, Tom immediately tries to deflect, like TB said. Tom is not a stutterer, so it was even more apparent as he fishes for what he thinks Michael wants to hear...
Wrong.
Foremost on Tom's mind in that scene, from the moment they settle in the room is that he has to break to Michael the news of Kay's 'miscarriage'. His body language is clear. Telling Michael 'what he thinks Michael wants to hear', especially about something as important as Fredo's whereabouts...is something that Tom would've been too intelligent to attempt. In any case he has NO interest in protecting Fredo, whom he knew as well as anybody was a traitor.
For the same reason, while not certainly not happy with it I would guess Tom's reaction to Fredo's murder was that it was entirely justified.
While I usually hate to intertwine the film(s) with the novel, Tom's dialogue with Kay at the very end of the book pretty much sets up why he would feel this way.
Apple
